The Truth that Remained a Mystery
by TheOnlyTruth
Summary: The antidote is almost complete, but the Black Organization is ready to strike. Can Conan keep his secret and Ran protected at the same time? A little bit of drama, a little bit of humor, and plenty of adventure and romance. Rated PG-13 to be safe. Ch.
1. I'll Wait Forever Shinichi

The Truth that Remained a Mystery

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own or operate the characters of Detective Conan.

* * *

Well this is the first part of my first fanfic ever and I would really love some input on it! I may slip a couple of times on the names because I'm sort of tied in between the Japanese manga and the American anime, but I'll do my best. Also, this fic takes place sometime after vol. 46 of the manga, although I can't really guarantee that it will follow suit. Finally, I'm going to try and put a new chapter up every week as long as the reviews are good.

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Chapter 1: I'll wait forever . . . Shinichi.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Fate . . . What is it? Is it something that controls our lives? Something that determines our destinies? Is it something that determines everything that happens to us? Does it determine our decisions? Does it determine our jobs, our friends, our families, who we loved? Is it fate when we're born? Is it fate when we first look into the eyes of the person we love? Is it fate when we die? Does fate even really exist? These questions plagued the mind of Shinichi Kudo ever since the day he was transformed into eight year old Conan Edogowa.

* * *

The Mouri residence seamed a bit different than normal that night, at least from the outside. There were no sounds of Yoko Okina's singing blasting through the windows. There were no smells of the yummy treats that Ran was usually cooking upstairs.

"Something's not right here . . .' a certain young detective mumbled to himself. As he went to pull out his key to open the door, he noticed that the door was already opened. The 8-year-old boy walked inside only to trip on an overturned chair.

"What's going on?" The youngster questioned. The next thing he noticed made it all too clear for him. The house was in shambles. Tables overturned, papers everywhere, and windows smashed. Then another horrible thought crossed his mind. A picture of Ran screaming sunk into his brain. The child ran through the house at a record setting speed, opening every door in the house, searching for the young woman.

"Ran-neechan! Where are you?" The young detective shouted desperately, but there was no response. The young boy rushed out the front door.

'Maybe Dr. Agasa will know what happened.' he thought. But as soon as he got halfway down the street he stopped in awe. He saw an old black car stopped at a red light with two men in the front seats and someone else in back.

'THE MEN IN BLACK COATS!'

The young detective was shocked. Inside the car he could depict the two gangsters that had ruined his life. A thin long blond haired man sat in the driver's seat, and a heavier set man with sunglasses sat in the passenger's seat. There was someone in the backseat though. It was a young woman with brown hair, who was lying motionless against the window.

'Ran!'

A thought of Ran being dragged out of the front door flashed across his mind as he cringed. The youngster couldn't move. He couldn't breath, he couldn't think, he couldn't do anything.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" The young boy finally managed to let out. The woman seemed to hear this and began to slowly turn around. She turned around only to confirm Conan's suspicions. She had cuts and bruises all over her beautiful face and tears in her eyes.

"Run Conan-kun! Run!" The girl screamed in terror as the car sped away from sight.

* * *

Conan sat up quickly as he awoke. His eyes were bloodshot and he was panting heavily.

"A dream . . . only a dream." The youngster said out loud.

'So continues the secret life of Shinichi Kudo' he thought as he narrowed his eyes. It had become very hard for Conan to sleep these past few days. He has had the same kinds of dreams all week. Was it a prophecy of the future that he had envisioned? Maybe it was something that he had eaten. Or maybe it was out of sheer anticipation for what would happen sometime this month, possibly as early as tomorrow? He recalled his phone conversation with Dr. Agasa earlier in the week.

* * *

"Wow Doc, are you serious?"

"Yes Kudo-kun, we should have a full antidote finished by the end of the month."

"Thank you so much Dr."

"Hey now, you shouldn't be thanking me, you should be thanking Haibara-kun."

"Well then I'll thank her when she comes back to school next week."

"She won't be coming back to school at all. Now that she has most of the antidote figured out, she's focusing all of her time on that antidote . . . And besides, it might not be safe now . . ."

"Yeah, things are getting kind of dangerous around here, I . . . I screwed up, I let them know too much."

"Don't blame yourself Shinichi, They were bound to find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, maybe you're right . . ."

"Oh, and by the way, you should probably call Ran-kun and keep her in a safe place, or at least tell her you're going to be home soon."

"Why's that?"

"Well, she's been standing around your house for hours after school these past couple of weeks . . . I think she's going to lose it soon. Either that or be found by the organization."

"Yeah, I will later this week."

"You know . . . You could tell her about Conan right now and settle everything. It's not like the organization doesn't know already."

"Yeah, maybe. I don't know for sure what I want to do though."

* * *

"That reminds me, I still have to call her and tell her about that.' He thought to himself as he hit himself on the head.

As the thought ended, Conan turned to his alarm clock to see that it was already 1:00 am.

'This has to end sooner or later, I'm going to fall asleep in the middle of class again . . .' The shrunken detective thought to himself.

Conan picked up his sleeping bag and pillow and began his short journey to Ran's room. He had made it a routine to sleep in Ran's room these past couple of nights. Sleeping near her and knowing that she was all right seemed to be able to put him to sleep. Although it was still kind of hard for him to admit that.

Conan knocked quietly on the door. He heard silent footsteps approaching the doorway slowly.

"Couldn't sleep again Conan-Kun?" Ran questioned as she stood in the doorway.

"Yes Ran-neechan, I keep having bad dreams." Conan replied. The child quickly but quietly set up his sleeping bag at Ran's bedside.

"You couldn't sleep either Ran-neechan?" Conan asked.

"No I was just getting up to get a cup of water . . ." Ran replied as she started making her way out of the room.

"Oh, but isn't there a cup of water on your dresser?" Conan pointed out.

"Well uh . . ."

'It always seemed impossible to keep secrets from Conan. Why? He just seems so much like Shinichi.' Ran thought to herself as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Conan-Kun I can't lie to you, it's . . . it's just, Shinichi has been gone for more than a year and a half now. I'm starting to wonder if he will ever come back . . ."

A lonely tear ran down the young woman's face. Shinichi had hoped this wouldn't happen, seeing Ran cry devastated him, but seeing her cry because of him was always ten times worse. It was like torturing an angel to him. Just like torturing a helpless and defenseless angle. He couldn't stand doing it. But there was nothing he could really do to stop it, besides his usual weekly phone calls. But of course she won't be like this for too much longer. In a month or less everything would be back to normal.

"Don't worry Ran-neechan, I have a feeling Shinichi will be back very soon." Conan said, looking very upset with himself.

"You think?" Ran asked, drying her tears a little.

"Yeah, I have a feeling you will be able to see him very soon." Conan whispered, now grinning a little.

"Oh thank you Conan-Kun, you always know just what to say!" She replied as she hugged the young detective.

He blushed slightly.

He sat back down on his sleeping bag and rolled himself up. He planned every detail of what he would do tomorrow while he laid in his sleeping bag, until he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning came quickly, but lasted for what seemed like an eternity. The Bacon and Eggs that Ran had cooked were as great as ever, but took what seemed like hours to eat. Conan's shower although only ten minutes long, seemed like sixty. The walk to school was just as challenging. But nothing at all could compare with how long school seemed to last. Every period seemed like it lasted forever. In writing he had to copy a report off of the chalkboard while listening to the teacher talk and talk and talk. In Math he had to repeat his multiplication table for what seemed like forever. In lunch he had to listen to Genta talk about his favorite types of deserts for nearly forty-five minutes, and he couldn't even remember what happened in geography, because all he could do was think about his call that he had to give Ran later.

Once the last bell for school rang, Conan took off. Although most kids were exited after school on Fridays, every one was very surprised at Conan as he ran down the hallways. He rushed past all of his friends who tried to catch up to him, but to no avail. He even managed to knock down a teacher in the process. All he could think about while he rushed out the school doors and down the street was the phone call he had to give Ran. He reached into his pocket for his mobile phone and slowed down to a halt, knowing that he had distanced himself enough from those annoying kids to make his call. He pressed number one on speed dial, which was for Ran's cell phone as he readied his bow tie voice changer. As he got into position he began to walk back towards Dr. Agasa's house.

* * *

Ran was on her way home from school by then. She was lost in thought while Sonoko and a couple of her other friends were talking about boys in their math classes.

'I wonder if Conan was really right. Could Shinichi really be coming home soon?' Ran thought to herself, not even hearing any of the words coming out of any of the other girls mouths.

"What's wrong with you Ran?" Sonoko demanded, as she turned around to see Ran daydreaming.

"Oh nothing, just thinking" Ran replied timidly, slightly narrowing her eyes.

"Oh yeah that's right, Ran's heart is already taken by her sweet detective Shinichi." Sonoko stated teasingly.

The other girls giggled hysterically.

"Is not!" Ran shouted back.

Suddenly her cell phone started to ring.

"You girls go on ahead, I have to answer this." Ran said happily, barely managing to escape from Sonoko's clutches once again.

"Fine, but tell us what Shinichi says." Sonoko replied mockingly.

"It's not Shinichi!" Ran yelled back at Sonoko.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ran, it's me."

"Shinichi?"

"Tell us what Shinichi has to say!" Sonoko yelled down the street as Ran cringed.

"Ran you there?"

"Yeah I'm here, what's up?"

"Well, a lot actually. I'll tell you about that later though. How are you?"

"How am I? You never ask me that before . . ."

"Well it's a special occasion."

"Really? Well I'm fine . . .I guess. So why is this a special occasion?"

"Well, as long as everything goes right, which it seems like it is. I should be able to come home by the end of the month."

Tears began to form in the young woman's eyes. Could it really be true? Could her Shinichi be coming home for her soon?

"Ran? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm just so happy that you're going to be able to come home soon . . ."

"Ran?"

"Wait, no never mind, and forget I said anything! So that means you're going to be home within the next two weeks?"

"The next two weeks? That's Right! The months half over already! I forgot!"

Ran laughed at that. Shinichi had been forgetting what day it was since she had known him. Which was forever.

"Shinichi, I swear. You would lose your head if it weren't attached to your head."

The two laughed for a little bit, both enjoying their time on the phone, even though it wasn't much.

"Now on a serious note. Ran, if Conan or I were to tell you that you were in danger, would you listen exactly to what we would say?"

"What? Does this have something to do with your case?"

"Yeah, kinda. Now I need you to listen to me. If you hear me or Conan say It's time to go, then you need to listen exactly to what either of us have to say, alright?"

"Sure, I guess . . . Is everything alright?"

"Yeah don't worry about it, like I said earlier, I'll be home in a couple of weeks or less."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

* * *

As Conan walked down the street chatting with Ran he could faintly hear yelling from down the street.

"Conan! You rushed out of school so fast!" Ayumi yelled from down the street. As her and the other two detective boys were approaching Conan.

"Listen Ran! I have to go, but I'll talk to you later!"

"Ok . . . but . . ."

"Ran, the sooner I finish my case, the sooner I'll be home. Now I'm sorry but I have to go. I'll be sure to call you at around 9:00, ok?"

"Ok, bye Shinichi"

"Wait for me Ran . . ."

"I'll wait forever . . . "

* * *

"Got a view of the target?" A man with long blond hair dressed in black asked.

"Yes I do . . . brother Gin." A bigger man also dressed in black replied, as he lowered his binoculars.

* * *

Looks like the Black Organization is ready to strike! We will have to see what happens!


	2. Game Over

* * *

The Truth that Remained a Mystery

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own or operate Detective Conan or any of its characters

Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate it! I decided to post this one up a little early cuz it was already done by the time I posted up the first chapter . . . so . . .. Yeah.

* * *

"Got a view of the target?" A man with long blond hair dressed in black asked. 

"Yes I do . . . brother Gin." A bigger man also dressed in black replied, as he lowered his binoculars.

Chapter Two: Game Over!

Conan hung up the phone quickly and stuffed it into his backpack while turning around to face the detective boys.

"Conan!" Genta started. "You knocked over a teacher and messed up all of the tests that she was carrying when you ran out of the school. The principle says he's going to call your house!"

Shinichi didn't quite seem to care though. All he could think about was what Ran had just said to him.

'I'll wait forever . . . She's so loyal, so dedicated. I can't make her wait forever; I need to change back now! I can't make her suffer anymore!'

"Conan, are you listening?" Mitsuhiko questioned.

"Yeah, I'm just sad guys" Conan said using the best acting he could.

"Why Conan? Is it because Ai is sick again?" Ayumi asked.

"Is it because you knocked that teacher over?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"Or maybe it's because you didn't get to try any of that pudding during lunch!" Genta added.

"No, it's not any of that, you see, I have to move back to America with my parents by the end of the month." Conan said smoothly, using some of his mother's acting skills. All three of the detective boys were seemed devastated. Conan didn't quite seem to notice, nor did he really care. They were young and would probably be over it in a day or two. Besides, there were many more important things to worry about.

"You guys should probably get home; I have a lot of packing to do. Maybe if I finish quickly, we can all go to the library and search for treasure!" Conan said using his acting skills once again.

"Right! Call us if you finish early! Genta yelled as the detective boys ran down the street.

'I have a feeling I won't.' Shinichi thought to himself with a slight smirk.

* * *

Ran hung up the phone slowly, trying to keep what Shinichi had just said in her mind. 

'Wait for me Ran . . . He really must care for me, I mean, why would he tell me that if he didn't. I can't wait this long; I want him home right now! But what did the other thing he said to me mean?' Ran thought to herself blushingly as she slowly walked towards her house with a large grin on her face.

"Hey Ran! What did Shinichi have to say?" Sonoko asked now standing in front of Ran, appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh! Not much, besides telling me that he's going to be home by the end of the month." Ran said trying to hide how much she really cared.

"Really? That's great news! Oh my gosh! What else did he say?" Sonoko asked excitedly.

"Nothing except for his usual weird stuff, and that he would call me back at around 9:00." Ran said now starting to show a little bit more emotion.

"You better give me a full report on everything that he says when he calls you!" Sonoko demanded.

* * *

Conan walked the rest of the short distance to Dr. Agasa's house and made his way inside. There seemed to be nobody home from his initial inspections. 

"Dr. Agasa! Are you home? Conan yelled through the house.

"Yes Shinichi-kun I'm in the basement with Haibara-kun" the old scientist yelled back.

The young detective made his way down into the basement. Throughout the basement were inventions that Doctor Agasa had made that had either not worked or had been broken. Conan began to search around the basement, occasionally calling for the Doctor to make sure he was on the right path. The basement was very mazelike; it was amazing how anyone could find his or her way around it. Finally, after minutes of searching, he came over to Ai's lab bench. There, Ai had been putting different chemicals into different test tubes and asking Doctor Agasa to bring her different books and scientific apparatuses.

"Hello there Shinichi-kun. We have some important news for you!" Dr. Agasa stated.

"You mean the antidote is complete? Where is it? Where?" Conan demanded as he searched around the lab bench frantically, which slightly annoyed Ai.

"No! But you got a message in the mail from one of the Organization members" Doctor Agasa stated as he placed a note in Conan's hand. The young child began to read the message.

'_Hey cool guy,_

_I see that you've been quite tired lately, you should really get to sleep earlier! I also don't think Angel would be happy with you if she knew exactly who was sleeping in her room with her. Anyways, this game has been fun, but I've decided that now is the time to cash in my chips. I'll give you one night to prepare yourself, but after that the game will end. Oh, and before I forget! You should really tell Angle who you are, she seams torn up lately!_

_Humbly yours,_

_Vermouth.'_

"Well it seems like we don't have that much time left. Be ready to evacuate as soon as I call." Conan mumbled as he dragged his feet back towards the stairs and out the door of Doctor Agasa's house. He began to walk slowly down the street with his head down and his hands in his pocket.

'I need to get a couple of things from my house, they might come in handy when the time comes . . . ' Conan thought to himself.

The eight year old boy turned around to look at his house, which he had not really been in for some time, except when he went in to find his mother spying on him. After a second glance, he noticed something that didn't quite seem right to him.

'Hey! The lights in the living room are on! Mom and dad are both in the U.S. right now so it can't be them.' Conan thought as he ran over to his gate. He turned his super shoes up to full power and jumped cleanly over the fence and snuck his way through the front door. There, Ran was cleaning the floor. She seemed to be thinking deeply.

"Ran-neechan? What are you doing here?" Conan questioned from behind her.

Ran screamed as she turned around, not expecting anyone to be in Shinichi's house. Conan quickly dropped to the ground trying to avoid any involuntary karate moves.

"Oh, sorry Conan-kun I didn't expect to see anybody here." Ran said apologetically.

"That's all right Ran-neechan, I shouldn't have surprised you like that. What are you doing?" Conan asked as childishly as he could.

"Well, Shinichi is coming home soon and I wanted to surprise him by making his house nice and clean." Ran replied happily.

"Oh I see. Would you mind if I helped?" Conan asked cutely.

"Not at all." Replied Ran kind of confused.

The two began to mop, sweep, dust, and clean everything in the house. Ran came fully equipped of course. She was armed to the teeth with mops, brooms, sponges, rags, and everything. As the two continued to scrub the floors Ran became lost in thought.

'I remember this house perfectly.' Ran thought to herself, recalling a fun night of hide and seek she had played when she was Conan's age.

* * *

"Ready or not, here I come!" A little boy shouted who looked remarkably like Conan. 

The little boy ran through the house looking everywhere for a little girl who he had just talked to half a minute ago.

"Slow down son, you're going to hurt yourself." The boy's mother warned as the child sped through the kitchen.

The child ran back upstairs and through the hallways and blazing speeds.

"Ran? Where are you?" The 8-year-old yelled as he came to a halt. No answer.

The little boy began to run again, but as soon as he had taken off, he had tripped over a roller skate and cut his knee. A little girl burst out of the closet right beside him.

"Shinichi are you all right?" The little girl questioned, a little scared at the sight of the blood on Shinichi's knee.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about me." The boy said proudly.

"But you're bleeding, mommy told me to always put a band-aid on a cut." The little girl said still a little afraid.

"You know what?" Ran continued. "I got a cut earlier and I'm sure it's healed by now, you could use my band-aid." The little girl ripped off the band-aid on her arm and placed it slowly on Conan's knee.

"Thank you Ran . . ." The little boy said as the little girl helped him up.

* * *

Ran laughed out loud catching Conan's attention. 

"Thank god we have the same blood type or some weird stuff could have happened." Ran said out loud, still continuing to laugh.

Shinichi knew exactly what she was talking about, he looked over at a small blot of blood on the wall next to him

After a while more of cleaning, the house was finally finished. Ran sighed with relief.

"I couldn't have done it without you Conan-kun, thanks for the help" Ran said to Conan while shaking his hand.

"No problem Ran-neechan. We should probably get home soon it's already 7:00" Conan said as he smiled back at Ran then looked at his watch.

"7:00 already! I have to get home! Let's go Conan-kun!" Ran yelled as she pulled Conan outside and ran down the street.

Ran reached her house at around 7:08, knowing that her father was probably dying of hunger. Of course, her father couldn't bare waiting for his food, so he went out to eat without them, as explained on the note in the living room. As Ran went into the kitchen and put on her apron the phone began to ring.

"Hey Conan-Kun! Could you answer that?" Ran called from the kitchen

"Hello? Mouri detective agency." Conan said as he picked up the phone

"Hey Cool Guy, good to see you're finally home."

Conan was in shock. It was Vermouth, and judging from what she had just said, she or some of her men must be nearby. Ran looked out from the kitchen to see who had called.

"Oh, hi mom!" Conan said hastily trying to draw Ran's attention away from him.

"Ah I see, Angel doesn't know who you really are yet huh Cool Guy?" Vermouth asked tauntingly.

"Ran has nothing to do with this, leave her out of it." Conan whispered into the phone.

"Actually she has quite a bit to do with this." Vermouth said calmly

"How?" Conan demanded, which caught Ran's attention in the kitchen.

"You'll find that out soon enough." She continued. "Now I must be going, and don't worry, you'll see me soon."

"But . . . You said . . ." Conan tried to get more words out, but it was too late, she had already hung up. Conan quickly dialed Dr. Agasa's number, as Ran watched intriguingly.

"Hello, Dr. Agasa.?"

"Yes?"

"It's time! Get Ai and the info on the antidote and get over here now!"

"Yes Shinichi, I'm on my way!"

"Conan-kun what's going on?" Ran asked, looking a little frightened while Conan hung up the phone.

"Ran . . . It's time to go. Write a note to your father telling him that you're going to America with Shinichi, and pack some cloths in your backpack, quickly! We have three minutes!" Conan yelled as he turned around.

"Ok . . . Is everything all right? What's going on?" Ran asked, now even more frightened.

"There's no time for that, now just go!" Conan shouted. It didn't take Ran a second to turn around and begin to write the note. After the short note was finished, she packed some cloths and waited at the door. During all of this, Conan gathered all of his gadgets, a couple outfits, and a soccer ball. As Conan walked out the door of his room he looked at Ran, who was standing in the doorway, looking like she was going to cry.

"Ran, don't worry! Shinichi is all right, I already talked to him." Conan said as he went to look out the window. "Now, your going to see some weird stuff, but don't ask any questions, I'll explain everything later."

"Ok Conan-kun." Ran said, now more serious.

Two men in black suits made their way up the stairs in the Mouri house. Both of them had a pistol in their hands. The two made their way inside, both looking for Ran and Conan. They checked things carefully and slowly until they got into Ran's room. In Ran's room they found a bunch of sheets tied together hanging out the window.

"I think" One of the men in black suits started "I think they got away!" But as soon as he had finished his sentence he was hit in the back of the neck by a small dart. Suddenly he fell asleep and stumbled out of the window into a large dumpster in the alleyway.

"What the hell?" The other guy shouted as he turned around, only to be met in the face by a soccer ball. Which knocked him out of the window as well.

"Conan?" Ran was shocked at what she had just saw. Conan had just tranquilized a man with his watch and kicked a soccer ball so hard, that he knocked a grown man out a window with it.

"I said I would explain everything later! Now lets go." Conan shouted as he took Ran's hand and made his way down the stairs. They both ran quickly down the street where Doctor Agasa was waiting for them in his car. When everyone was in the car Conan gave instructions to head to Osaka, where Heiji was waiting for them.

* * *

Looks like things are finally starting to heat up! I'm gonna try to get the next chapter up a little early too, but I can't make any promises.


	3. No More Tears

The Truth that Remained a Mystery

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own or operate Detective Conan or any of its characters

Thanks again for the reviews guys! Yes, I'm trying to slowly add more and more action to the story each chapter.

* * *

"I said I would explain everything later! Now lets go." Conan shouted as he took Ran's hand and made his way down the stairs. They both ran quickly down the street where Doctor Agasa was waiting for them in his car. When everyone was in the car Conan gave instructions to head to Osaka, where Heiji was waiting for them.

Chapter Three: No More Tears

"Yes sir, they . . . They got away . . ." One of the organization members said on his phone as he pulled himself out of the dumpster.

"You do know the punishment for failure? Do you not?" A familiar voice questioned over the phone.

"No! No! Please, give me one last chance! Please!" The man shouted over the phone, but to no avail. He fell to the ground with a single hole in the back of his head. A man with long blond hair stood behind him with a gun raised to where the man's head was just a few seconds ago. The dead mans partner also suffered the same fate; one bullet to the back of the head.

* * *

(Note: I have no clue how long a road trip from Tokyo to Osaka would last, so I'm just gonna pretend)

A lonely old red Beetle was the only car on that country road that night. It was very dark on that street, only the car's headlights could be seen. The trees that lined the road were swaying back and forth gently, It was only slightly windy. The old beetle drove considerably fast down this road, Dr. Agasa knew that if someone were following them, they probably wouldn't be able to see them anyways. So, at that time, getting off of that road as quickly as possible seemed like a good idea.

"Hey Doc! Don't you think you're driving a bit fast?" Conan shouted, holding down his seat belt for dear life.

"Well Conan-kun, I think I saw one of those organization members in the parking lot at the gas station." Dr. Agasa explained. "And besides . . ."

Dr Agasa turned his head back to the road quickly. There was large black truck set up right in the middle of the road; it was impossible to see it before it was too late. The car's back end lifted up in the air as some of the front of it was dented in.

"Is everyone all right?" Conan shouted while rubbing his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Both Ai and Ran shouted in unison. Conan looked over at Dr. Agasa, who was lying flat against the steering wheel. He was unconscious. Conan got out of the car and looked around for a minute or two while Ran and Ai tried to wake up Doctor Agasa. Conan knew it was a set up, and after a few moments of observation Conan rushed back inside and into the drivers seat.

"Haibara! You steer, I'll do the pedals! Ran! Get Doc. in the back!" Conan ordered frantically.

"Why? What's going on?" Ran yelled. As soon as she was done yelling a bullet flew through the back window and straight past her head.

"That's what!" Conan yelled back as he pressed down on the gas with his hands.

Two cars were following them now, as they went around the truck and down the street. Ran was sitting on the floor in the back with Doctor Agasa lying unconscious next to her. Conan was on his hands and knees below the driver's seat controlling the gas. Ai was standing in the driver's seat trying to steer the car.

As the two cars followed, Ai shot back at them with the pistol that she had managed to grab before they made their escape. The men behind them returned the fire ten fold. Once the bullets had stopped Ai looked down at her shoulder. There was a small bullet implanted in the back of it. Pain began to devour her as she swerved the steering wheel back and forth. Both Ran and the still unconscious Dr Agasa were tossed from one side of the car to the other. Thankfully Conan reached up with one of his hands to steady the car as he used his feet to push on the gas.

The two cars that were following them slowly gained on them as more bullets wised past through the back window. Out of what must have been pure adrenaline and desperation, Ai leaned out the window and fired the last bullet she had. Suddenly one of the cars behind her swerved and crashed into one of the ditches on the side of the road. Ai had managed to hit the tire of that car. There was still another car behind her though, and just as many bullets flying past. Ai had no bullets left and the crash from earlier was beginning to take it's toll on the car. The old beetle began to slow down, making the gap in between it and the other car much smaller.

"We have one last chance." Conan said as he put the car in cruise control and picked up his soccer ball-making belt. He adjusted his shoes and stood in the front passenger's seat facing the back of the car. He blew up a soccer ball to normal size and placed it at his feet. Once every thing was lined up he kicked the ball straight out of the back window, through the windshield of the other car, and into the face of the driver. The second car swerved into the large ditch on the side of the road.

They stopped the car and finally woke up Doctor Agasa. They bandaged up Ai's arm and the long road trip resumed.

* * *

"Ma'am! We just got a message from one of the men that were tailing Sherry!" A man in a black suit said.

"And?" Vermouth questioned as she sat at her desk.

"Well . . . they . . . they lost them, but they do know that they are going to Osaka." The man explained.

"Excellent, round everybody up and send them there! We won't even give them a chance to escape from us." Vermouth ordered menacingly.

"So Gin, do you plan on going to Osaka with them?" Vermouth questioned as she turned her chair around.

"No, I have a much better plan that I think you will like." Gin answered with a large smile on his face.

* * *

It was already midnight and the car ride continued.

'I swear, Ran can sleep through anything.' Conan thought to himself as he watched her, while she laid motionlessly on the seat beside him with her head rested gently on his leg.

"How much longer until we're there Doc?" Conan asked while looking at his watch.

"Only another hour Conan-kun." Dr Agasa replied while yawning.

Ran's eyes opened slowly. She could have sworn she was resting beside Shinichi, but after rubbing her eyes, she knew it was only Conan.

"Hey, Haibara. Did you bring all of the info for the antidote?" Conan asked, not knowing that Ran had woken up.

"Yeah." Ai said coolly. "I brought all of the needed ingredients, two discs with all of the information on it, all of the equipment and books, and five of those trial antidotes that you used a few months ago."

"Antidote? Conan-kun! Tell me what the hell is going on here!" Ran snapped, which caught Conan off guard.

"I said I would tell you later Ran-neechan." Conan replied, sounding a little annoyed.

"No! You're going to tell me right now! I just saw an 8-year-old boy shoot someone in the back of the neck with a wristwatch, and kick a soccer ball hard enough to break somebody's jaw. And, the same little kid drive a car with one of his friends. Not to mention some strange guys broke into my house today, and I am being taken across the country by car! I think I deserve an explanation!" Ran screamed at him.

"Maybe . . . Maybe you're right Ran . . ." Conan replied softly.

"Ran? Don't you mean Ran-neechan? You should at least show your elders a little respect when you're kidnapping them!" Ran shouted.

"Hey Doc? Wouldn't now be a good time for a pit stop?" Conan pleaded, not really paying attention to what Ran had just said.

"Yeah, there's a truck stop up here and a park nearby, we'll stop there." Dr Agasa replied, trying to stay out of Ran and Conan's argument.

They parked the car in the far back of the parking lot just incase anyone recognized it. Dr Agasa and Ai made their way to the restrooms, while Conan directed Ran to an open field that seemed to be unoccupied. It was a clear night; there were no clouds in view. The stars could be seen perfectly. It would have been perfect if Shinichi had been in his normal body . . . "If" being the key word.

"I've . . . I've been lying to you all of this time Ran . . ." Conan began with his face turning red and his body temperature raising.

"So?" Ran questioned impatiently and she taped her foot on the ground.

"My . . ." Conan slowly took off his glasses. "My real name isn't Edogowa Conan . . . It's . . . It's Kudo . . . Kudo Shinichi."

"That . . . That can't be true, I saw you and Shinichi together . . . Twice!" Ran replied slowly, trying it to prove it to herself more than to Conan.

"The first time wasn't me; it was Kid . . . Who owed me a favor. The second time was really me, but Ai posed as Conan to try and help me keep it a secret . . ." Conan explained, sounding extremely depressed.

"But . . . But you were with me that one time . . . When Shi . . Shinichi called . . . " Ran stated, now starting to realize the truth.

"That wasn't really me either." Conan turned the voice on his bow tie to match his real voice. "That was Doctor Agasa using this."

"No . . . That doesn't happen! It just doesn't! People don't just suddenly turn into little kids!" Ran shouted. Tears began to flow out of her eyes and down her face. She dropped to her hands and knees and looked straight at the ground, not even looking at Conan who was standing right over her.

"Ran . . ." Conan put his hand on Ran's chin and forced her to look into his eyes. "No more tears . . . Let me explain everything that happened, but promise me one thing . . . No more tears . . . I've said it before, and I'll say it again . . . It kills me to see you cry . . ."

Ran couldn't say anything at all, she was in shock. All she could do was nod at the little boy's request.

"Remember that day at Tropical Land?" Ran nodded again. "Well, that's when the whole thing started. After the murder on the roller coaster, when we were walking out of the park was when I saw one of those suspicious looking men in black. I decided to follow him and see what he was up to. Apparently he was making illegal smuggling dealings with someone. He was a member of some kind of secret crime organization. Anyways, while I was watching what was going on, I was jumped by one of his buddies . . . After the guy hit me with a pipe . . . They force fed me some kind of poison . . . It was supposed to kill me . . . But . . . Well, you see what happened."

"Why?" Ran began to cry again and turned her head away. "Why did you keep it a secret from me? Why . . . didn't you just tell me? Did you enjoy watching me cry? Did you enjoy watching me . . . worry about you?"

"Ran . . . It's not like that. I would never do that to you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to put you in danger. The way this organization works is they kill anyone who knows about them. I . . . I just didn't want to put you in any danger . . ." Conan replied.

"Well a lot of good that did Shinichi!" Ran yelled, still in tears. "I . . . I guess . . . you already know how I feel huh?" Ran's crying became much worse now. "But you just thought it was funny, the way I feel about you. You just think this is some kind of game don't you?"

"No Ran! I . . . I wanted to tell you this in my real body . . . But I guess it wasn't meant to be. Every time I'm about to tell you . . . I get side tracked by something." Ran looked into Shinichi's eyes again with her tears becoming less fierce. "I . . . I lo . . . I love you Ran! I've loved you forever, ever since we were kids. You're the reason why I stayed in Japan and let my parents leave without me. It was torture to me to know how you felt this last year and a half and not be able to tell you in return. You're my whole reason for living, and for trying to get the antidote to change me back. I wanted to tell you that one night at the restaurant, but I started to change back after I solved that stupid mystery . . ." Conan stared into Ran's eyes. She began to cry again.

". . . I . . I'm sorry Ran . . . I didn't mean to make you cry . . . Just forget everything I said . . ." Conan said, now looking at the ground.

"Oh shut up Shinichi! I . . . I love you to, but you probably know that by now . . ." Ran scolded as she grabbed Conan and hugged him tightly. Conan returned the hug, which was something he didn't normally do.

After the long hug had stopped Ran and Conan met back up with Dr. Agasa and Ai. They returned to their car to finish their long journey to Osaka.


	4. Plan of Action

The Truth that Remained a Mystery

Disclaimer: I in no way, shape or form own or operate Detective Conan or any of its characters

Sorry for the slow update guys, I've been really busy lately. I'll be sure to get the next one up as quickly as possible though.

* * *

"Oh shut up Shinichi! I . . . I love you to, but you probably know that by now . . ." Ran scolded as she grabbed Conan and hugged him tightly. Conan returned the hug, which was something he didn't normally do.

After the long hug had stopped Ran and Conan met back up with Dr. Agasa and Ai. They returned to their car to finish their long journey to Osaka.

Chapter Four: Plan of Action

"So Heiji? Where's Ran?" Conan asked as he walked out of the bathroom, drying his wet hair with a towel.

"She's in the third room to the left down the hallway." Heiji pointed out, putting his spoon in to the bowl of cereal he had just poured.

Conan walked down the hallway and quietly knocked on Ran's door.

"Ran are you awake?" He knocked a little harder. "Ran are you in there?" No sounds were heard from the room. Conan slowly and quietly opened the door and peeked in.

"What the hell!" The little boy shouted. All of the furniture was overturned, clothes were scattered everywhere, and the windows were smashed. Conan quickly went into the room to see if Ran was in there, but as soon as he got in he heard the door shut behind him. The eight-year-old turned around and was met by a silenced pistol pointed straight at his head. He slowly looked up to see it was a blond haired man dressed in a black trench coat that was wielding the gun.

"So we meet again . . . detective." The longhaired man smiled.

"Gin! Where the hell is Ran?" Conan demanded, gritting his teeth.

"She's no longer with us, her time has expired." Gin started. "You're quite the lucky one though. I mean, who would have thought that . . ."

"You bastard!" Conan cut him off "She didn't need to die! Why . . . Why did you kill her?" Tears began to form in Conan's eyes; it was the first time he had cried in years.

"Because, everyone who knows about us dies, and now it's your turn Kudo!" Gin shouted as he pulled the trigger.

Suddenly things turned red for Shinichi, and then slowly black. The last word he had heard echoed through his head.

"Kudo . . . Kudo . . . Kudo! Kudo! Kudo? Kudo?" The voice continued to echo. "Shinichi-Kun! Wake up we're here!"

* * *

Conan's head rose quickly as sweat rolled down his face. He looked around a couple of times to realize that he was in fact still in Dr Agasa's car and was in Heiji's driveway.

"So Shinichi, do you always talk about me in your sleep?" Ran questioned teasingly.

"Ha ha, no but it's public knowledge that YOU talk about ME in YOUR sleep." Conan replied, while sticking out his tongue.

"Enough bickering you two! Let's get inside and get some rest, and get me some aspirin!" Doctor Agasa scolded.

The four got out of the beat up old car and walked to the front door that Heiji had just stepped out of.

"So what's the situation Co . . ." Heiji looked at Conan and then Ran and then Conan again. Conan nodded his head slowly. ". . . I mean Kudo?"

"Well they set a trap for us on the way, so they must have known that we were coming here. Ai has been shot and Doc has a big lump on his head." Conan replied.

"I see, well it's already 1:30 in the morning; we should all go and get some rest. Dr. Agasa you can use my parent's room, they're out of town. Ai you can take the guestroom on the right, and Ran, you got the guestroom on the left. Now I'm going to go put your car in the garage Doc." Dr. Agasa and Ai both went inside.

"Hey wait! Aren't you forgetting someone?" Conan yelled at Heiji as he chased Heiji towards Dr. Agasa's car.

"Oh yeah! Maybe you and Ran could share rooms." Heiji replied with a large smirk on his face.

"What?" Conan's face instantly turned red. He looked over at Ran who was also blushing just as badly.

"I didn't even bring my sleeping bag!" Conan shouted.

"Well you're not sleeping with me! And Doc and Ai have already gone to their rooms, its either Ran's room or nothing, you ungrateful detective!" Heiji argued. Conan turned to look at Ran again who was blushing even worse now and looking in the other direction, pretending not to have heard anything.

Conan walked up to Ran, still blushing and with his hand on the back of his head. "Um . . . I.. Uh . . . Ran . . . We need to . . . uh . . ."

"Fine! But don't get any ideas Kudo Shinichi!" Ran shouted as she folded her arms and walked back into the house and into her room.

"Heiji! You bastard!" Conan grinned.

"Ha ha ha, no need to thank me Kudo . . ." Heiji grinned back as he walked to Dr. Agasa's car. Conan quickly followed Ran into the room that they would be staying in. Ran took her pajamas out of her backpack and went into the bathroom to change into them. When she was finished, Conan went in to do the same. After Conan was done changing he went to the opposite side of the bed as Ran and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.

"You know Shinichi . . ." Ran started. "You're lucky I even let you in my room, I could have made you sleep on the floor."

"Very funny! Nothing stopped you from letting me in your room any other time" Conan replied.

'Wait that's right' Ran thought to herself angrily. 'He's slept in my room a lot, especially in the past week. He even slept in the same bed as me a couple of times! He's seen me change a couple of times too! Ah! I've even bathed with him!'

"Shinichi you little jerk!" Ran screamed as she hit Conan, knocking him off of the bed.

"What was that for?" Conan demanded as he pulled himself off the ground and back onto the bed.

"For seeing me change, and for sleeping in the same bed as me, and for bathing with me!" Ran yelled.

"Hey! None of that was my idea, it was you're fault!" Conan pointed out.

"So? You still could have stopped me!"

"I tried! Besides, it's not like I saw anything!"

"Whatever! Good night . . . Conan-Kun!"

"Fine! Good night . . . Ran-neechan!"

Both Conan and Ran turned their heads away from each other.

'He's such a jerk! I can't believe he would take advantage of me like that! But I guess it wasn't really his fault . . ..' Ran thought to herself.

'What the hell is she so mad at me about? It's not my fault . . . although I could have tried harder not to be put into those spots . . .' Shinichi thought to himself.

Both Conan and Ran turned around and looked at each other at the same time. They both blushed badly.

"I'm sorry."They both blurted out quickly at the same time. Conan turned back around to finally get some rest. However, Ran slowly inched towards him. Ran kept moving forward until she was only a few inches away from him. She wrapped her arms around Conan and snuggled up to him. The warm arms that had just wrapped around his body surprised Conan and he jumped a little. He blushed a little and returned the affection by wrapping his arms around hers. They both lay in the bed cuddling with each other until they fell asleep.

* * *

The sun shined violently through the window of Ran and Conan's room. It slowly made it's way through the window, across the carpet, up the bed, and into Conan's eyes. The young detective squirmed a little bit and turned to his side to shield his eyes. When he turned around however, he remembered where he was. There in front of him was Ran, starring straight into his eyes.

"Sleep well?" Ran asked.

"Yeah, you?" Conan asked back.

"Yeah." Ran said as she pulled herself out of the bed. "I'm gonna go take a shower real quick."

Ran walked over to the side of the bed were she had her backpack full of cloths and picked it up.

"Shinichi . . ." Ran started "What are we going to do now? When are we going to be able to go home?"

". . . I . . . I don't know" Conan shook his head.

* * *

"Tokyo eh? I like that idea much more Gin, what would I do without you?" Vermouth asked teasingly.

"You probably wouldn't be around to do anything." Gin answered. He took his silenced pistol out of his coat and pointed it at the back of Vermouths head.

"So you're sure that stupid detective will fall for it?" Vermouth asked.

"One hundred percent." Gin Replied as he took the gun off of Vermouths head and put it back into his coat.

"Good" Vermouth got on her phone and dialed a number. "Yes, send everyone back. Don't ask why, just do it!"

* * *

"So where's Haibara?" Conan asked, while pouring syrup onto his half eaten waffle.

"She's in her room working on the antidote." Dr Agasa muffled as bits of toast erupted from his mouth.

"What?" Heiji shouted. "She better not get any chemicals on my floor or you're dead Kudo!"

Ran looked across the table at Conan with a puzzled expression on her face.

"It's so I can get my normal body back." Conan explained, already knowing what Ran was about to ask.

Dr. Agasa wiped his face with a napkin. "She's been working on it all night; she may be clo . . ." He was cut off by the sound of a door slamming. Everyone turned around and stared at Ai as she walked down the hallway and into the kitchen.

"Any thing new Ai?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"I need to talk to you Kudo!" Ai said calmly.

"Me? What for?" Conan asked. Ai didn't answer, she just turned around and walked back into her room. Conan quickly got out of his chair and followed her.

"What's going on?" Ran demanded, as she shook Dr. Agasa by the neck.

"I have no clue!" Dr Agasa muffled. Ran and Dr. Agasa halted their movements as they heard the door to Ai's room open. Conan walked out of the room slowly with a large smile on his face. He walked up to Heiji and whispered something in his ear.

"Ha ha, no problem Kudo, pick something out of the closet in my room." Heiji answered happily. Conan ran into Ai's room for a few seconds and then rushed into Heiji's room with something in his hand. The door slammed loudly behind him.

"Now what's going on?" Ran questioned, now finally letting go of the death grip she had on Dr. Agasa's neck.

"Kudo is changing back." Ai explained, now standing next to the table.

"Really?" Ran's face lit up with happiness, until she heard a loud scream come out of Heiji's room. "W-what's happening to him?" Ran cringed as she heard another scream of pain.

"He's growing multiple times his size at an accelerated rate, I'm sure even you could imagine the pain involved with that." Ai explained as she brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. Ran turned her head and cringed again as one final inhuman scream was heard. She looked down the hallway as the doorknob turned and the door opened. A young man stumbled out of the doorway, it was eight-teen year old Kudo Shinichi. Ran obeyed her first instinct and raced over to him and hugged him as tightly as she could. Shinichi almost lost his footing from the impact, but he regained his ground and returned the hug.

"I'm glad you're finally back to normal." Ran sniffled, tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Me too . . ." Shinichi whispered.

"Are you going to stay this way for good now?" Ran asked sadly. Shinichi nodded his head and wiped the tears from Ran's eyes.

"I don't want to ruin this touching moment Kudo, but don't we have other things to worry about right now?" Heiji asked with his arms folded. Ran and Shinichi both blushed and let go of each other and walked back to the table. Everyone took a sat down and began to discuss their plan.

"Well, as you probably already know Kudo, those Black Organization people are probably already on the way here. We need a plan and fast." Heiji reported.

"Yeah, the bad thing about this organization is that no matter where we run, and no matter what we do, we will be found. The only thing we can do is fight. We're going to need the most help we can get and we're going to need to act when the time best suits us. As hard as it may be, we're going to need to be the ones who set the pace of this game; it's our only chance." Shinichi explained.

"Who do we get though?" Ran asked. "The police?"

"I don't know, we might have to . . . What do you think Haibara?"

"This is stupid, It's going to be impossible to finish the black organization off. The only two ways it could be done would be to either arrest all of the top members, or kill them all, which are both impossible. I myself don't even know who the leader is. The only three people who do are Gin, Vodka, and Vermouth." Ai argued.

"Fine then." Shinichi smiled. "We'll just have to go through them first."

"Idiot." Was all that Ai could say.

"Let's go to the police station then, I'm sure they'll take the time to listen to what me and Heiji have to say." Shinichi said.

"All right fine. We need to get going then. I'm surprised that they haven't gotten here by now. And as much as I would do anything to help out, I don't want anything to happen to this house. We can use my parents van to get there, and I don't want anything to happen to that either, so lets drive safely."

"Yeah" Shinichi agreed. "Everybody make sure they have everything before you leave. Haibara is there anything else that you know that could help us against the black organization?"

"Actually there is . . ."

* * *

Everybody got their things quickly, and made their way out to the van. Ai made sure to get the information for the antidote and another gun with some more bullets. She was standing in the doorway when Shinichi came up behind her.

"Haibara. . ." Shinichi called. "If this is the perfect full antidote like you said, why didn't you take it yourself?"

Ai thought about it for a couple of seconds until she turned around. "Idiot, I only had time to make one, and right now it's much more to our advantage for you be normal size."

"Oh . . ."

Ai made her way out to the van while Shinichi locked the door. When everyone besides Shinichi was in the car his phone began to ring. He thought about it for a few seconds before he took it out of his pocket and answered it.

"H-Hello?"

"Nice to talk to you again detective."

"Gin?"

* * *

Ok, not so much action in this chapter, but it leaves many things to be answered. I'll be sure to get the next one up quickly.


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